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For What It's Worth

Thursday, April 26, 2018

review: blood fury (black dagger legacy #3) J.R. ward

A vampire aristocrat, Peyton is well aware of his duty to his bloodline: mate with an appropriate female of his class and carry on his family’s traditions. And he thought he’d found his perfect match—until she fell in love with someone else. Yet when his split-second decision in a battle with the enemy endangers the life of another trainee, Peyton has to face the idea that his future, and his heart, actually lie with another.Novo, as a female in the Black Dagger Brotherhood’s training program, feels like she has to prove herself to everybody—and she has no interest in being distracted by falling in love. But when Peyton proves to be so much more than a rich playboy, she is forced to confront the tragedy that has broken her soul and closed her off from love.As the two grapple with Novo’s past and Peyton’s present, another couple must contend with an erotic connection that is unparalleled—and potentially scandalous.Saxton, who has had his heart broken, discovers in himself a deep-seated attraction to Ruhn, a new member of the household. But will the other male explore the connection? Or will he close his mind and his heart to what could be true love . . . and cost Saxton everything? ~Goodreads

Source: LibraryReview: I gave up on Ward’s books and the BDB (Black Dagger Brotherhood) years ago. I think the last one I read was book #9 (although I did read #11 – Qhuay’s book). I actually have Lover Reborn (BDB #10) but haven’t read it. By that point I was basically rage reading/reviewing her books.

She had so many story lines and pov’s going on that the couple got shorted out of their own books, the product placement and slang overtook everything. There was no longer a sense of Brotherhood and things were being dragged out unnecessarily for no good reason – only to be dropped later. My blood pressure is going up just thinking about it again lol

Anyhoo….she started this Black Dagger Legacy series with the new trainees and I had heard good things but still – it wasn’t enough to bring me back until this book. There are two couples – Peyton and Nova (M/f) and Saxton and Ruhn (M/M) and I knew Saxton from the original series so I already felt a little bit of an emotional investment in his HEA going in and hearing that this was her best books in years, I decided to give it a try.

Despite there being 4 pov’s, there’s a common theme between both couples – unrequited love that both Saxton and Peyton need to move on from and a feeling of unworthiness for Nova and Ruhn. That commonality works and stops the back and forth from being too jarring. Both couples proceed at almost the same pace even though their stories and characters are quite different.

I actually got this one from the library because I was convinced I wouldn’t make it past the first 50 pages and didn’t want to waste money on buying it. Instead I was completely absorbed in both romances – irritated when life made me put the book down. Each pov ends on a bit of a cliffhanger making you NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS. Which was a ton of fun as a reader and harken's back to Ward’s early writing style.

There’s very little in way the of The Chosen, the Lessers or anything else really unless it is something that helps move the romances forward. So if you’re looking for that this might not be for you. She still drops all the brand name references but she seems to have pared it down some and they were actually relevant to the scenes so I was ok with it here.

And just a quick note about each couple:

Peyton and Nova: fiery and combative at first, sexy as hell. While Nova doesn’t take playboy Peyton seriously, he decides to pull his shit together and be there for her even as she pushed him away. She has really good reasons and Peyton was a steady force for her – waiting until she was ready to open her heart to him. CW: –> miscarriage<-

Saxton and Ruhn: Saxton is so broken after his relationship with Blay ended. Having to see Blay with Qhuinn and the babies is like a stab to the heart every day. He believes something fundamental broke in him after Blay and he’s never meant to have love again until Ruhn enters his life. Ruhn is a gentle giant that was forced into deplorable acts and they are so perfectly right for each other, despite being complete opposites. Saxton is highly refined and enjoys the best of things while Ruhn lives simply but shares his love totally and completely. He reminded me a bit of Z and what he went through with his past.

Gah! This book gave me the warm romantic fuzzies! It’s really what I needed to read after a few ambigious ending romances. I needed rock solid and I got it. In fact, it got a little sappy towards the end. I love you – no I love you – no, I love you MORE shmoopy woopy….lol but I’ll take it!

I’m not sure I’m ready to come back into the Warden fold but I’ll definitely keep an open mind with future installments of this series.

Oh my goodness, this review was great. :) From the "rage reading" comment to " I love you MORE shmoopy woopy." Priceless. :) I've never read the BDB series despite all the rave reviews. The thought of starting an established series that already has 15+ books... just no. But I'm so glad you enjoyed this spin-off so much! It sounds like it really delivered what you wanted. Even if you don't return to the main series, at least this one is good and fresh!

I’m loving this spinoff series and really enjoyed this installment. Not sure I’ll go back to the main series or not. I’ve skipped around in there and I don’t want to read a few books for sure, but I do want to keep up with the newbies. Glad you enjoyed this one,,too Karen! :)

Ah, I'm so glad you enjoyed this! I need to read the Legacy series. I still read the BDB but they're no longer a burning must buy for me. I just pick them up when I get the chance. I understand completely what puts so many off but I'm still - more or less - in... However, I think I'll enjoy the simple PNR of this series rather than the crazy not UF, not PNR going on in the BDB. :)

I've never read past the first BDB book, but I'm glad to hear that this series is so enjoyable! I wouldn't know any of the characters, but I may have to put this series on my list in case the mood strikes! Great review!

I think this book would be ok without having read the BDB series but it does help if you have - you'll understand the cameos more. But I had missed so many BDB books and the first two of this series so I was a bit out of the loop too.

I have heard so much stuff about Ward and her BDB books over the years, but I've never actually read them myself. Honestly, they always sounded a *little* too OTT and angsty for me. But I do confess that I'm curious about her work! Anything that can make someone rage read/review a bunch of tomes like those is enough to intrigue me.

It's so great when you feel like you've given up on an author, but then one of their books brings you back! I haven't read the BDB books, but they've been on my TBR for ages. I hope you end up loving the rest of this series, Karen!

I tried reading her Brotherhood series as well a few years ago and they didn't really interest me. I liked the mythology but it was overwhelmed by sex. I wanted to know more about the brothers and what was going on. This sounds like it might be a better series for me, it still has the romance but there's more depth to the storyline as well. Great review Karen, so glad you're enjoying the series <3 <3

I haven't yet read anything by the author, but I'm glad you fell in love with this latest installment despite your initial misgivings! It's always great when a book takes us by surprise...the good kind of surprises, anyway. Great review!

It makes me kinda of happy when a book in a series is still good when the rest of the series wasn't as good! I DNF book 1 of Black Dagger Brotherhood because I couldn't get over the names! NO NO NOOOOO Those names! LOL! But I love when a a book comes laong that may be different and better!

You crack me up. I had no idea that rage reading was a thing :) Also this: "I love you MORE shmoopy woopy" <LOLOLOL it makes my blood boil, that kind of stuff. Always love your book reviews; Glad this one redeemed itself from the author's previous books!